Light Truck Drivers Salary in South Dakota

Light Truck Drivers in South Dakota have a median of $43,240 a year, below the national $44,860 (−4%); the state ranks 35th of 51 states by median. That is 8% less than the median across all occupations in South Dakota ($47,080). Among neighbouring states, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming pay more (up to $48,880 in Minnesota) and Iowa pays less (down to $42,750 in Iowa). South Dakota employs 4,820 light truck drivers, 10.5 per 1,000 jobs, the 37th largest count of any state. A location quotient of 1.67 means the occupation is more concentrated in South Dakota than nationally.

South Dakota vs the United States, May 2025

Light Truck Drivers: wage percentiles, mean, employment, jobs per 1,000 and location quotient in South Dakota and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
South Dakota	Hourly	$13.23	$16.46	$20.79	$23.42	$28.56	$21.20	4,820	10.54	1.67
South Dakota	Annual	$27,520	$34,230	$43,240	$48,720	$59,400	$44,100	4,820	10.54	1.67
United States	Hourly	$14.81	$17.92	$21.57	$25.15	$38.61	$23.45	983,300	–	–
United States	Annual	$30,800	$37,270	$44,860	$52,310	$80,310	$48,770	983,300	–	–

South Dakota annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.

Rank by median: 35th of 51 states
Rank by employment: 37th of 51 states
Location quotient: 1.67
Jobs per 1,000: 10.54

Ranks count the 50 states and DC with a published value. The location quotient is the occupation's share of South Dakota's employment divided by its national share; 1.00 means the same share as the nation. Take-home pay at these wages: FastCalc's take-home pay calculator.

Metropolitan areas in South Dakota

3 metropolitan areas and 2 nonmetropolitan areas touching South Dakota publish a row for light truck drivers, sorted by median. Areas crossing a state line are listed under every state they touch; a linked metro has its own profile.

Area	Median hourly	Median annual	10th pct (annual)	90th pct (annual)	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Rapid City, SD	$20.80	$43,250	$27,640	$60,700	800	10.80	1.71
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD	$20.71	$43,080	$29,260	$67,740	440	5.86	0.93
Sioux Falls, SD-MN	$20.62	$42,890	$27,520	$60,580	2,080	11.64	1.84
West South Dakota nonmetropolitan area	$21.21	$44,120	$27,370	$56,980	560	8.85	1.40
East South Dakota nonmetropolitan area	$21.04	$43,770	$27,450	$57,200	1,300	9.79	1.55

Neighbouring states

State	Median hourly	Median annual	Employment	Location quotient
South Dakota	$20.79	$43,240	4,820	1.67
Iowa	$20.56	$42,750	9,680	0.98
Minnesota	$23.50	$48,880	17,360	0.93
Montana	$22.32	$46,420	2,960	0.91
North Dakota	$23.05	$47,950	1,950	0.72
Nebraska	$21.21	$44,120	4,210	0.65
Wyoming	$21.05	$43,780	1,450	0.81

See the national page for Light Truck Drivers (every state ranked) and the South Dakota wage profile (every occupation in the state).

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS South Dakota estimates.

Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.